The Travancore Devaswom Board, which manages the Lord Ayyappa temple at Sabarimala, on Thursday told the Kerala high court that the jaggery received by it had 'halal' mentioned on the packaging as they are also exported to Arab countries by the company supplying to them.
'Hindu unity is possible without any external forces playing any role if their faith is questioned.'
In the backdrop of the Pulmedu tragedy, which claimed lives of 102 Sabarimala pilgrims, the Kerala high court on Thursday asked the Tranvacore Devaswom Board that manages the hill shrine of Lord Ayyappa, if 'Makara Jyoti' (celestial light) was man-made.
The Kerala forest department is of the view that unrestricted entry of vehicles for ferrying pilgrims into the Pullumedu trekking path was one of the factors that paved the way for the January 14 stampede that claimed the lives of 102 Sabarimala pilgrims.
Division bench comprising Justice Thottathil Radhakrishnan and P S Gopinathan directed the Police, Forest and Travancore Devaswom board to file reports regarding the reasons for the accident.
'The first time a ban on women aged between 10 and 50 entering Sabarimala came was in 1991 and was by a high court judgment.' 'So, it is only a 27-year-old ban.' 'The high court can fix customs and the Supreme Court can overturn it.' 'I don't see this as an attack on religious freedom or the practice of a religion.'
The Supreme Court asked on Friday as it said it would examine the issue of entry ban on women of menstrual age in the historic Sabarimala temple on the basis of constitutional parameters.
Seeking to downplay the debate over the Makara Jyothi of the Sabarimala temple, Travancore Devaswom Board said it was known to most believers that it was a man lit-fire, but there was a Hindu belief behind it. "It is known to everybody that Makara Jyothi is a fire lit up by men at Ponnabalamedu and TDB also recognises this',TDB president M Rajagoplan Nair said.
'What authority has a secular government to administer Hindu temples? When Hindu temples are ruled by secular governments, what religious freedom do Hindus have?'
The Travancore Devaswom Board that governs the affairs of Sabarimala has been entrusted to form an expert committee to come up with a detailed project report for transforming Sabarimala into a national pilgrimage.
The saffron party will use Lord Ayyappa the same way it made use of Lord Ram in the north to take away the Nair vote and make electoral inroads in the state.
The Kerala government on Friday decided to order a police inquiry into Kannada actress Jayamala's claim that she had entered the sanctum sanctorum of the Lord Ayyappa temple at Sabarimala.
The temple board is likely to seek the co-operation of the state government as its own investigative wing had limitations in conducting the probe in a sensitive matter involving inter-state ramifications.
The Supreme Court asked the Sabarimala temple management, "How mensturation is linked to purety?"
The Travancore Devaswom Board has insured the Sabarimala Ayyappa shrine for a value of Rs 30 crore (Rs 300 million) and also introduced a free-of-cost accident insurance project for pilgrims visiting the holy place.
Asserting that it would decide on the right of women to enter the historic Sabarimala shrine on the basis of constitutional principles.
The Board, which also comprise the state government nominees, told a five-judge Constitution Bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi that it is high time that a particular class not be discriminated on the ground of 'biological attributes'.
The director general of police said everyone in the force should have to perform their duties irrespective of their religion and politics.
801 cases have been registered in connection with violent protests which were witnessed during the dawn-to-dusk hartal called by pro-Hindu outfits on Thursday, police said, adding that 717 people are now in preventive custody.
It is the first annual pilgrimage season at the hill temple after the coronavirus outbreak and authorities have decided to restrict the number of devotees to 1,000 per day and to 2,000 on weekends.
Prayar Goapalakrishnan, president of TDB, said the board was against banning the pyrotechnics during temple festivals as they are part of rituals.
The RSS leader said he had not violated any customs and claimed that he ascended the 18 steps carrying the sacred offerings.
A 12-hour hartal is being observed against the preventive detention of a Hindu Aikya Vedi leader.
'We will meet each villager in Kerala and chalk out a massive agitation plan to protect the Sabarimala temple.'
'When I applied for the job of santhi, I applied as a person who was eligible.' 'When I joined the temple at the age of 21, it was because I got the 4th rank in the list.' 'Now, everybody is talking only about my caste. I am above all that; it doesn't matter to me and to the people with whom I am associated with.'
The court noted that several devotees visiting the Jagannath temple in Puri were being harassed.
Travancore Devaswom Board, which manages the shrine, said revenue collection on the opening day registered a growth of Rs 1.28 crore compared to last year.
"The right to enter a temple is not dependent on a legislation. It is the constitutional right," the bench said.
'This government has huge respect for the Supreme Court and when there is going to be a hearing on the review petition, it is appropriate to refrain from taking any action till then.'
Devaswom sources said they were planning to apprise the high court of an earlier supreme court verdict on conduct of the Pooram festival.
Sabarimala Karma Samithi on Tuesday organised a protest march to the Palarivattom BSNL office, seeking her expulsion.
Here's a recap of events that occurred in India in the past 24 hours.
Sabarimala temple authorities decided to regulate presence of women of menstrual age in and around River Pampa during the aarattu (ritualistic bath) ceremony on March 23.
"Is it possible for women to trek kilometers through the forest path and stand amongst the packed crowd?"
But the 'tantri family' will accept it, Sabarimala head priest Kandararu Rajeevarau said.
The Kerala government has made it clear that it would not provide security to any woman of menstruating age visiting the shrine, as per Devaswom Board Minister K Surendran.
The temple board, in earlier round of litigation, had opposed the public interest litigation by Indian Young Lawyers Association seeking to throw open the shrine for all women.
A nine-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde at the outset said that it will only deal with the issues referred to it by a five-judge bench on November 14 in the Sabarimala case, and asked the lawyers to convene a meeting on January 17 to decide on 're-framing' or adding additional issues to be deliberated upon by it.
'As a person who has seen the treasure, I am worried about its safety.'
Gandhi, however, acknowledged that his opinion is different from that of his party on the "emotional issue" after the Supreme Court last month lifted the ban on entry of women of menstrual age to the hilltop shrine of Lord Ayyappa in Kerala.
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